By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, July 3: Six-member Australian federal parliamentary delegation Friday rebuked the Chinese anger against their ongoing visit here.
The unofficial delegation comprising of three senators and three members of the Australian House of representatives are on a six-day visit, starting Wednesday. On Thursday they met with the exiled Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama and representatives of the Tibet’s government in exile.
Chinese embassy in Canberra has reacted angrily to the delegation’s visit saying the visit constitutes interference in China’s internal affairs.
Calling themselves “representatives of the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet”, the delegation said the routine Chinese protests had no justification.
At a press conference here this afternoon, the delegation instead suggested China to initiate constructive efforts in solving the Tibet question.
“The pressure that we have come under is actually trivial as to the pressure that Tibetan people have come under the exile community and the people in Tibet,” Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, a member of the delegation, said responding to a question from media.
“We strongly …. disagree with the statements made by Chinese officials in Australia. Solving the Tibet question is something that unfortunately, by the actions of the Chinese government, has become a matter of concern to the entire world. It is not an internal Chinese question, never has been,” Ludlam added.
“So we are very very happy here (in Dharamsala) to be given much more direct and much more personal insight into these issues,” Ludlam said.
“The best thing that the Chinese government could do to diffuse the situation is actually to open up Tibet, open up its borders, allow free media to enter and allow Tibetans to move freely and speak freely,” Senator Sarah Hanson- Young, the youngest member in the group said. “That would be the best thing that the Chinese government could do for their own global reputation,” Young said.
“Our visit may be unofficial, but the fact that we are here (in Dharamsala) reflects the support and concern of the parliamentarians and people of Australia have for Tibet,” Labor MP Michael Danby, who is Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet and is heading the delegation, said.
The delegation also issued a joint statement in which they expressed “disappointment at the Chinese Government’s outright rejection” of the “Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People”.
The delegation maintained that the memorandum was a “detailed proposal for meeting the needs of the Tibetan people within existing provisions in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China”.
“We support the memorandum as a basis for constructive negotiations on Tibet’s future and will continue to encourage the Chinese Government to enter into sincere and substantive discussions with the Dalai Lama or his representatives,” the statement said.
In the statement, the delegation said they strongly supported “His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way proposal for a peacefully negotiated settlement of the Tibetan situation” and expressed regret that the “Tibet-China dialogue has so far failed to bring genuine progress towards a mutually acceptable resolution.”
“Religious repression, “patriotic education” and undemocratic social-economic reforms, including the forced settlement of nomads” have fanned the flames of unrest in Tibet and brought untold suffering to the Tibetan people’ last year,” the statement said.
“Our delegation reflects all major parties of the Australian Parliament and is testimony to the depth and breadth of support in Australia for a peaceful resolution of the Tibetan situation,” the delegation said, adding “We speak also on behalf of many Parliamentary colleagues and friends in the Australian community who are unable to join us in person.”
According to the delegation, Australia is home home to over six hundred Tibetans. “This growing community has become a cherished part of our multi-cultural landscape and we are very grateful for the contribution that Tibetan people and their culture have made to Australian society,” the delegation said.
The delegation said they were now looking forward for Dalai Lama’s “return to Australia” later this year.
The Tibetan leader, who will turn 74 on Monday, is scheduled to visit Australia sometime in December.
